


just another lovesick afternoon (i won't let you go)

by thylionheart



Series: if my heart was a house, you'd be home [9]
Category: A Wrinkle in Time (2018), Kairos (O'Keefe) Series - Madeleine L'Engle
Genre: Christmas Season, Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Middle School, Mono - Freeform, Mother Figures, Nightmares, PTSD, Post-Movie, Romance, Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-08 06:51:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16424474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thylionheart/pseuds/thylionheart
Summary: Meg and Calvin come down with mono.*not a standalone*





	just another lovesick afternoon (i won't let you go)

**Author's Note:**

> So I won't be able to update again until December; I'm gonna be focusing on NaNoWriMo all of November.
> 
> The title is from Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu by The Maine.

Calvin opened his eyes, blinking against the sunlight streaming in through the sheer curtains. He yawned, then winced and stifled a groan. His throat felt raw, and his limbs heavy, and his mind muddled.

He hated mono.

The symptoms—lethargy, soreness, malaise—had started setting in the day after the Murrys bought their Christmas tree. Unsurprisingly, Meg had come down with the same symptoms, and after a couple days Dr. Kate had called the family’s doctor, who also happened to be one of her best friends.

Dr. Louise Colubra was a wispy, small-boned Puerto Rican woman with a thin, beak-like nose and shiny black hair tied up into a smooth bun. She moved like a bird; her hands flitted about when she spoke and she walked lightly on her tiptoes despite wearing Oxford flats. Around her neck she wore a striking golden pendant in the shape of a winding snake.

According to Meg, Dr. Louise had run house calls for the Murrys for as long as she could remember. The downstairs lab was more than functional enough to process most blood or fluid tests, and she and Meg’s mother enjoyed working together and bonding over their love for microbiology.

When Dr. Louise had stopped by the house the morning before to give the kids a check-up, she had smiled wide and clapped her hands together the moment Dr. Kate had introduced her to Calvin.

“Christmas-Card-Calvin! It’s nice to finally meet you. Kate’s said such sweet things.”

That had stunned Calvin. He’d never considered that the Drs. Murry _talked_ about him. He thought maybe they’d mentioned him here or there—he was their daughter’s boyfriend, after all, and he was on their Christmas card—but the notion that they’d often spoken kindly of him to their friends had caused him to flash a startled but genuine smile.

The doctors had drawn the kids’ blood and taken the samples down to the Murry lab for testing—specifically, Dr. Kate had told Calvin, for the EBV antibody test. He hadn’t known what that meant, but he’d felt too tired to bother looking it up.

After school that same day, Meg and Calvin had come home to find that Dr. Louise was still there, analyzing their blood. They’d gone upstairs and sat listlessly on cushions around the low coffee table in the center of the attic, drudging their way through their homework until Dr. Kate and Dr. Louise knocked on Meg’s door.

“Our sneaking suspicion was confirmed,” Dr. Kate had said. “Mononucleosis.”

“Of course,” her friend had added, shooting the kids a playful smirk.

Heat had flushed Calvin’s neck, but Meg hadn’t reacted at all. She’d simply yawned and asked whether or not that meant they could stay home from school.

Since Meg and Calvin were dating, her parents had sat them down earlier that week and laid down ground rules for Calvin’s stay at the Murry home: No closed doors when alone in a room together, no Calvin in the attic after bedtime, and a laundry list of other, more _intimate_ rules that made both Meg and Calvin flush scarlet. For a couple days after that particular talk, neither could look at the other without blushing.

So, Calvin had been surprised when Dr. Kate told him and Meg that they could spend the day in her and her husband’s bedroom—the only room other than the living room with a TV. She had, of course, given them another brief lecture and informed them that she’d be right next door in the upstairs study. Then, she’d pulled Calvin aside and told him that she trusted him.

And after all the Drs. Murry had done for him, there was no way Calvin would let himself break that trust, hormonal urges be damned.

The bed shook slightly and the blankets shifted. Beside him, curled up into a ball, slept Meg; Calvin could tell she was dreaming by the way she’d twitch and mumble every so often. A few times already she’d kicked him—not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to snap him back awake whenever he started drifting off.

_The Great British Baking Show_ played on the TV sitting across the room. Contestants rushed about a large tent and created decadent pastries and cakes. Calvin had never watched it before, but Meg had confessed that it was a favorite guilty pleasure of hers and her father. It’d only taken two episodes to hook Calvin as well.

Now, as he idly watched the show, sleep tempting his eyes to shut, Meg’s foot struck his leg for the fifth time that hour. More amused than annoyed, he reached over and poked her gently in the face.

“Meg, you’re kicking me.”

She swatted groggily at his hand and opened her eyes. “Hm?”

“You’re kicking me, Smalls.”

“Mmph. Sorry.” Meg turned onto her back and stretched, making a quiet squeaking noise as she did that Calvin found adorable. She put on her glasses and squinted at the TV. “Aw, did Cathryn get sent home?”

“Yeah, last episode. I think. I keep zoning out.”

“Darn. I liked her.”

Then she shivered, and Calvin shifted so she could nestle comfortably against him. Her sock-clad feet tangled with his bare ones and her head rested on his chest.

Calvin had just started to fall asleep when Meg spoke in a voice slurred with sleepiness. “Cal?”

“Hm?”

“I keep thinkin’ about what Dr. Louise said earlier. About how ‘of course’ we got mononucleosis. Do y’know what she meant by that?”

Out of habit, Calvin cleared his throat—then flinched from the pain. “Uh, yeah. You don’t?”

“No? Should I?”

“It’s just...mono’s kinda got a reputation.”

“What d’you mean?”

“...Don’t freak out.”

At that, Meg rolled over until she was above him and could look him in the eyes. She folded her arms across his chest and rested her chin on her hands, staring at him with a furrowed brow and worried frown. Her voice was no-nonsense when she spoke.

“What do you mean, ‘mono has a reputation’?”

Calvin sighed. He didn’t think it was anything to be concerned about, but he knew how scared Meg was of their classmates finding out about their relationship. Earlier, he had assumed she knew about mono and had been relieved when she hadn’t panicked. But now...

“Well…mono’s spread by saliva, and, because of that, it’s known as the, uh, kissing disease. The gag, I guess, is that if you know two people who come down with mono at the same time, it might mean they’ve been...y’know...kissing.”

Meg’s eyes grew as wide as saucers; it was the most awake she’d looked all day. “Which means that everyone at school is gonna know that we’re—”

“Meg, it’s okay.”

“Is it?” Her voice pitched. “For you, maybe. Everybody loves you, Calvin, but I have a target on my back that’ll only get bigger if anyone finds out. I already get harassed for just being _friends_ with you!”

“Meg, _listen.”_ Calvin took ahold of her shoulders. “Listen. I know. I’m not saying your fear isn’t justified. But no one at school knows we have mono. No one except Jenkins, and he’s not the gossiping type. He’s _not_ ,” he repeated when Meg opened her mouth to protest, “and you know he isn’t. I haven’t told any of my friends, and I won’t. And besides, even if by some weird stroke of bad luck someone does find out, there are plenty of other ways to catch mono. We could always just say we shared a drink or something. Or got sneezed on by some random guy in line at McDonald’s. That’s why I’m not worried. Okay?”

Her expression had softened a tad, but her eyes still held a flicker of fear. Calvin traced his fingers across the length of her braid and gave her a gentle smile.

“We’re gonna be fine, my Meg.”

He knew it delighted her when he called her that. Meg melted at his words and relaxed against him, blushing. “Okay, I believe you. I trust you. My Calvin,” she added in a whisper.

Butterflies flittered in Calvin's stomach, rising up into his chest and settling in his rib cage, right next to his heart. He cupped the back of her head and drew her into a kiss.

Their kiss was slow and drowsy; both kids were still fatigued from the sickness, and talking had only worsened that. Meg lazily combed her fingers through his hair, then cast aside her glasses and pressed her face against his neck. She planted a few soft kisses below his jaw before nuzzling closer and closing her eyes. Calvin placed his hand on the small of her back. She was wearing his hoodie, and her tossing and turning earlier had caused it to ride up a smidge. His fingers brushed her bare skin and Meg shivered.

“Sorry, is my hand cold?”

“No, it’s not you. I’ve just been feelin’ pretty cold, is all. Your hand feels nice.”

Calvin frowned. Not only was Meg wearing his hoodie, but she had on fuzzy socks and both of them were tucked under several blankets. She shouldn’t be cold. And, now that he thought about it, Calvin realized her skin felt oddly hot to the touch. He pulled his hand away—ignoring Meg’s grumbling protests—and pressed it to her cheek.

“Meg, I think you have a fever.”

“Mmph, I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

He started calling out for her mother next door. Meg whined into his neck, repeating that she was fine. When they heard Dr. Kate’s footsteps in the hall, she rolled off Calvin with an annoyed groan.

Dr. Kate appeared in the open doorway. “Everything alright?”

“I think Meg has a fever,” Calvin told her.

“I’m fine,” insisted Meg. She pushed out her lip in a petulant pout.

Her mother sat on the edge of the bed next to her daughter and felt her forehead. “You do feel very warm, Meglet. I think Calvin’s right. Let me go get the thermometer and some Tylenol.”

She left, and Meg stuck out her tongue at Calvin. “Tattletale.”

He batted his eyes innocently at her, as if to say: _Who, me?_

By the time Dr. Kate came back, sleep had nearly overtaken Calvin once more. He watched through half-lidded eyes as Dr. Kate stuck a thermometer in Meg’s mouth; when the timer beeped she checked the temperature and tsked.

“101.4. Hate to say it, but this isn’t uncommon with mononucleosis. Do you have a headache?”

“Yeah. It comes and goes. The lights are kinda hurting my eyes, too.”

“Alright. Come on, let’s sit you up. That’s it.”

Dr. Kate helped Meg sit up against the stack of pillows and handed her a glass of water and some pills. While her daughter took the medicine, she moved over to Calvin’s side of the bed and felt his forehead.

“You seem to have lucked out, Calvin. I don’t think you have a fever, at least not yet. How are you feeling?”

“Real tired. And my throat feels like I’ve swallowed glass.”

Pulling out her cell phone, Dr. Kate turned on the flashlight. “Open your mouth.”

He did. She shone the light inside and frowned.

“Hm. Looks like you might be getting strep. Again, not uncommon.”

Dr. Kate had him take some Tylenol as well.

“I’m sorry, honey, the next several days aren’t gonna be fun. For either of you,” she added, looking between Calvin and Meg. “If you think you’re tired now, guess again. It’ll likely get worse. I’m surprised you’re both still so lucid. Let me know if your left side starts to get tender; that’d be your spleen swelling. The lymph nodes on your neck might start swelling too. It’s gonna be a lot of sleep and a lot of liquids for a while—hopefully no longer than a week or two.”

“Two weeks?” Meg squeaked. “But we have midterms next week! And Christmas is the week after that!”

“I know, baby. I’m gonna call Principal Jenkins again soon to try and get things sorted, and Louise said she’ll come over again tomorrow. After dinner, Calvin, I’ll help you back to your room, but Meg, you can sleep in here tonight. You two are going to need as much rest as you can get, and together you’ll simply distract each other.” Her expression grew a bit mischievous. “Calvin, how many times has Meg kicked you?”

Calvin returned her smirk. “Five.”

Meg sank deeper into the pillows with a sheepish smile.

“So enjoy the clemency I’ve granted you today. I’ll be back in an hour with smoothies. Rest now.”

After she left, Meg fumbled for the Roku remote. The TV had gone black save for a question: _Are you still watching ‘The Great British Baking Show’?_

“Do you wanna keep watching?” Meg asked Calvin. “Or do you wanna change it?”

Calvin could hardly keep his eyes open. “Um, whatever you want. I don’t think I can stay awake much longer.”

“I’ll just put on some music, then.”

“Mmm, ‘kay.”

A few seconds later, soft and soothing music filled the room. Meg edged closer to Calvin and kissed his forehead.

“Goodnight Cal.”

“It’s, like, noon.”

“Just shut up and sleep.”

“Love you too.”

 

* * *

 

Kate climbed the staircase, a smoothie in each hand. Through the open door, she could hear music playing. When she stepped into her room she couldn’t help but smile at the scene before her.

Both kids were asleep. Calvin was lying on his side facing the wall, and Meg had her arms wrapped around him, latching onto him like a koala, her face burrowing into his hair. They looked so precious that Kate felt her heart practically double in size.

Setting the smoothies on the dresser by the TV, Kate dug her phone out of her pocket and snuck a picture of the two teens. She sent the photo to her husband and only had to wait half a minute for his response.

_Enabler!!!_

Kate let out a quiet, huffing laugh. For a moment she pondered whether she should wake the kids so they could drink their smoothies, or if she should let them sleep. Finally, she decided to wake them; who knows how long it’d be until they woke up on their own.

Half an hour later, she popped in again. Both teens had finished their smoothies and their empty glasses sat on the nightstands. Meg was lying on her stomach with her arm draped across Calvin’s stomach, asleep and snoring. Kate collected her daughter’s glass first, then skirted the bed to retrieve Calvin’s. Before she could pick it up, the boy stirred in his sleep. His eyelids fluttered and he mumbled drowsily.

“Thanks, Mom.”

Kate nearly dropped Meg’s glass. Her breath stuck in her throat and her free hand flew up to cover her mouth.

It hadn’t taken long for her and Alex to start viewing Calvin as their own; Kate had always wanted a large family, for one thing, and the boy had quickly proven to be kind, selfless, and trustworthy. He’d traveled across the expanse of the universe for their family’s sake—how could they _not_ welcome him? Heaven knows he needed a supportive, loving family, and Kate and Alex were more than happy to open their arms wide and embrace him.

Knowing that Calvin did indeed view her as a motherly presence in his life caused tears to prick in Kate’s eyes and a fond smile to curve her mouth. Before leaving, she bent down and kissed his temple tenderly.

Eyes closed, Calvin smiled.

 

* * *

 

The next day, the sickness slammed both kids with full force. Calvin woke up with a throat so sore he couldn’t talk, and Meg had to be carried up to the attic by her father, thoroughly exhausted even after a full night’s sleep. And so, for the next week, Meg and Calvin only saw each other via Snapchat. It had taken Calvin over a month to convince Meg to download the app, and now both kids were glad he had succeeded. Several classmates texted Calvin, asking why he wasn’t at school and if he was okay. No one texted Meg.

Exams came and went, and Dr. Kate informed the kids that Principal Jenkins had agreed to let them take their exams during winter break, as long as they took them before report cards were due in mid-January. Dr. Louise popped in a couple times to check on them and to have coffee with Dr. Kate.

Meg started recovering first. A week before Christmas, she slowly but surely regained her strength and the swelling in her lymph nodes and spleen went down. Calvin’s mono also eased up, but his strep throat kept him bedridden. 

One night, a little after eight o’clock, Calvin was sitting up in bed reading _The Hobbit_ when a knock sounded at his door. Meg peeked into the guest room. She was wearing grey wool leggings under a navy nightshirt and a cardigan.

“Hey.”

Calvin held up three fingers in a little wave and smiled, then tapped his throat.

“Still hurts?”

He nodded.

Meg stepped inside and shuffled across the floor in mismatched fuzzy socks. “Scoot over.”

Calvin shifted into the middle of the bed and Meg slid under the covers next to him. Once settled, she leaned in to kiss him, but he pulled back.

“Your mom says I might still be contagious,” rasped Calvin, trying and failing to keep a grimace off his face as his throat flared with pain.

“I don’t care.” Meg touched his cheek; when he didn’t move away, she kissed him. “And don’t talk,” she murmured against his mouth. “Not if it hurts.”

Calvin kept one hand in his book to mark his spot and placed the other between Meg’s shoulder blades, kissing her back. Even through the brown knit of her cardigan he could feel that she was unusually tense, and when she drew out of the kiss he saw that her eyes were dull and brooding.

“You okay?” Calvin asked.

Covering his mouth, Meg shushed him. “I’m fine. Still kinda tired. I took a nap earlier, but…” Her lips pinched together and she broke eye contact for a split second before shrugging vaguely. “Still tired.”

Calvin studied her face with a concerned frown. Meg had never been a great liar. He checked the page number of his book, put it on the nightstand, and turned back to Meg with his head tilted in a question.

Under his expectant gaze, Meg groaned and flopped back onto the pillows. “I haven’t been sleeping all that great the last few days, okay?”

“Nightmares?” Calvin croaked, ignoring the pointed look Meg shot him for talking.

“...Yeah.” She slipped her fingers under her glasses and rubbed at her eyes. The action left an eyelash on her cheek, and Calvin reached forward to brush it away. Leaning into his touch, Meg clasped his hand and slanted her head to kiss the thin skin of his wrist.

A minute passed. Calvin caressed her cheek with his thumb and waited patiently—and silently—for Meg to continue. Finally, she did.

“I can’t remember them all, just that one was on Camazotz, and another at school. But when I tried to take that nap today, I...I had another dream about Charles Wallace. Like the one I told you about last month, just like it. Same white room, same red eyes, same awful laugh. But this time, instead of him just skipping around taunting me, he was dangling from strings, like a marionette. His skin was white and shiny, as if he was made of porcelain. He was smiling and laughing and mocking me, and then suddenly there was this loud _pop!_ and he...he...”

Meg swallowed hard. Her fingers trembled against Calvin’s, and he weaved their hands together and gave hers a comforting squeeze.

“He fell apart,” she whispered. “Limb from limb. Like the man with the red eyes did. Charles Wallace just...fell apart. And I know it was just a dream, I know that, but it felt so _real_. After I woke up, I couldn’t stop pacing until he got home from Christmas shopping with Mom. It took everything I had not to cry out of sheer relief. I just tucked him into bed, like, fifteen minutes ago, and he was perfectly fine, but I can’t stop seeing those horrible red eyes and hearing the hollow sound of his body hitting the floor.”

Tears welled in Meg’s eyes, and Calvin pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair. Her arms curled around his middle and she sighed.

“It’s been four months, Cal. I thought these dreams would’ve stopped by now. I’m scared that they’re never gonna go away.”

“‘One cannot tell when he is going to be healed,’” said a sudden voice from across the room. Calvin and Meg looked up to see a pajama-clad Charles Wallace standing in the open doorway.

He continued. “‘So do not try to set an exact time limit. Faith, not time, will determine when the cure will be effected.’ Paramahansa Yogananda.”

Sitting up out of Calvin’s arms, Meg exclaimed, “Para- _who?_ No, never mind that—you’re supposed to be in bed, Charles Wallace, and it’s not polite to eavesdrop!”

“You’re not exactly the authority on politeness though, are you?” Charles Wallace replied blithely, ambling over and clambering onto the bed.

Calvin bit back a laugh as Meg’s voice took on her classic big sister tone. “Charles Wallace!”

Her brother sat next to Meg and cupped her face, smushing her cheeks upwards in a playful attempt to make her smile. Meg’s annoyed glower only lasted a couple seconds before she broke into a smile and giggled. “Oh, c’mere.”

She tugged him into her lap and hugged him fiercely. Charles Wallace patted Meg’s back, then looked over her shoulder at Calvin. His face betrayed a solemness that informed the older boy that he had overheard everything Meg had said about her nightmares.

Did Charles Wallace get nightmares? Calvin frowned. He couldn’t remember him or Meg ever mentioning so. After all that had happened, he couldn’t imagine the boy _not_ experiencing nightmares. Even Calvin sometimes still dreamt of falling off Mrs Whatsit, or trying to outrun the storm, or what might’ve happened if Meg hadn’t stopped him from naively entering that strange woman’s home. Not to mention, The It had directly and wholly _possessed_ Charles Wallace. If that hadn’t in some way traumatized him, Calvin wasn’t sure he could be human.

And yet, Charles Wallace showed no signs of lingering trauma—other than, perhaps, his wakeful sleeping habits.

After a minute, Charles Wallace wiggled out of Meg’s embrace and crawled under the covers between her and Calvin.

“I wish you weren’t sick, Calvin,” he sighed, “I’d like you to read to me.”

Calvin dipped his head apologetically.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” chided Meg. “Mom won’t be happy if she finds you out of bed.”

“Technically, I am in bed. Besides, it’s not like we have school tomorrow. It’s Christmas break.”

Meg glanced over at Calvin, expecting him to back her up, but he simply shrugged and pointed to his throat with a cheeky smile. She sulked.

“Ugh, fine. But you have to go to bed by nine. Mom wants to take us both shopping early tomorrow.”

Charles Wallace conceded. Yawning, he asked, “Do either of you have your phone? If Calvin can’t read to me, I want to listen to an audiobook.”

As Calvin reached for his phone, Meg offered, “I could read to you.”

“No offense, Meg, but we both know you’re not very patient with reading aloud. Calvin, what're you reading?”

The older boy held up the book.

Charles Wallace squinted at the cover. “It looks familiar. Is that _The Hobbit?”_

Calvin nodded.

“Perfect. I’ve been wanting to listen to that one. Can you see if you can find an audiobook of it?”

Meg groaned. “You’re not even giving me a chance.”

“Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.”

“Hey, that’s not fair!”

“Meg, you don’t even like reading aloud in school.”

“That’s because everyone stares at me and the teacher corrects me every time I slip up. It’s embarrassing.”

Charles Wallace studied his sister for a moment before folding his hands together. “Alright. Read to me.”

Only five minutes passed before it was clear to Calvin that Meg regretted her decision. She trudged slowly through the quick-witted style and descriptive paragraphs, failing to add the needed vocal expressions to bring the words to life. Calvin stopped paying attention—he was already halfway through the book anyway—and started playing with her hair, while her brother bit his lip and tried not to correct her whenever she pronounced something wrong.

Surprisingly, Charles Wallace fell asleep after a mere twenty minutes, likely due to his sister's droning. Once Meg realized he was out, she closed the book and heaved a relieved sigh. Calvin smirked knowingly at her and raised his eyebrows.

“Oh, shut up,” Meg muttered, thrusting the book back at him.

He swallowed a chuckle and let his smirk soften into a sweet smile. Meg’s annoyance died quickly under his adoring gaze. Reaching forward, she traced her thumb over an arrangement of freckles on his nose and cheek, sending a pleasant tingling across his skin.

“Do you want me to take him back to his own room?” asked Meg.

Calvin gestured to his throat.

“Right, you still might be contagious. Okay, I’ll take him back.”

Meg leaned over Charles Wallace and gave Calvin a final lingering kiss. Climbing out of the bed, she did her best to gather her little brother into her arms without waking him. Before she could turn her back, Calvin lifted his hands and curled them into the shape of a heart. She blushed and rolled her eyes in response.

“Goodnight, dork.”

Calvin watched her carry Charles Wallace to the open doorway. Then, Meg paused and peeked back at him with a shy smile.

“…Love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! ♥︎


End file.
